Microsoft may have sealed the deal to acquire Activision Blizzard all the way back in 2023 for $68.7bn, making history as the biggest company buyout in the video games industry to date, but only now has the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finally given up its own fight.
The FTC has been contesting Microsoft’s purchase since its conception in 2022, arguing – in an antitrust lawsuit filed in December that year – the deal would “harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets”.
Following the acquisition in October 2023, the commission still fought on, issuing an appeal in an attempt to overturn the court’s decision that December. However, earlier this month, the 9th Circuit Court rejected the appeal, and now the FTC has officially dropped its case.
“The Commission has determined that the public interest is best served by dismissing the administrative litigation in this case. Accordingly, it is hereby ordered that the Complaint in this matter be, and it hereby is, dismissed. By the Commission,” reads the official filing, which was issued last night.
The news was shared by Microsoft president Brad Smith on social media, with the exec calling the decision “a victory for players across the country and for common sense in Washington, DC”.
Smith added he was “grateful to the FTC” for its announcement.
Since Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard in 2023, the company has continued to keep games such as Call of Duty on PlayStation. Additionally, it has since added a number of its Xbox Studios titles to additional platforms, with the likes of Obsidian’s Grounded now being available on both Switch and PlayStation.
More recently, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle released on PS5, and earlier this month it was announced that a revamped edition of the original Gears of War game will be coming to PlayStation later this year.